Learned the game initially from his father, a teaching professional, at the age of six. Golf is very much in the blood as his uncle (his father's twin) is also a teaching professional, whose daughters Amaia and Marina play on the Ladies European Tour. Was Spanish Amateur Open Champion in 1986 and a member of the Spanish team in the Eisenhower Trophy in 1988, the year before he turned professional. His professional career has been divided between playing on The European Tour and the Challenge Tour and holds the record for entering the Qualifying School every year from 1989 to 2006. Played in the Final Stage in 12 of those 18 years and was successful five times, the most recent in November 2006 when he took 17th place at San Roque to gain his playing privileges for the 2007 season.